TC ELECTRONIC KONNEKT 24D (FireWire Audio Interface)

[Anderton]

Looking at the graphic when you first mentioned the problem...if you're coming in through 3/4, have you tried turning up the send control? It appears to be all the way down in the graphic.

[Cmpsr]

Hi Craig,

 

Actually I'm not routing an instrument through the interface... if that's what you mean? I'm running in stand-alone "internal" mode until the new update is released.

 

As my source, I'm using a sampled piano through a stand-alone version of Kontakt 2. Its output shows on both the "DAW Main" and "Main-Mix" faders and it sounds very good. However turning the "Fabrik R return level" knob all the way up or down doesn't bring up any reverb. Keep in mind, I'm assuming this is how it works?

 

Also, notice in the first .jpg that even with the Fabrik R icon showing "on", the horizontal meters aren't responding either. The same thing occurs in the Fabrik R panel... no input or output. I don't think this is normal.

 

Jon

[Cmpsr]

Here's a new updated .jpg.

 

Craig I apologize for somewhat hijacking your review with this. I really like this interface and would be willing to get a replacement if I knew these problems were due to a defective unit, and of course the Sonar issues were taken care of...

 

Jon

[barbaroja]

Hi all, great review. Very good, Craig!

 

I´m about buying an interface cause the onboard sound in my gigabyte DS3 is crap. I use FL Studio mainly.

 

So, I was about buying the konnekt 8 but then i noticed E-MU launched a 0404 USB 2.0 interface. It´s significantly cheaper (U$200), has nice stats (in paper), and the USB 2.0 port should work faster (but stable???) than 1394a. Also, I would not have to buy a FW PCI adapter. I am a fan of good quality, as I believe TC Electronic products are.

 

A really good thing about the E-MU one is the dedicated hedadphone knob. But in essence, it offers the same goodies as the Konnekt 8. The major concern here sould be sound quality.

 

I mailed TC asking for help, but it looks like TC support team cant talk nor good or bad things about the competition, which i think its pretty fair. E-MU people just mailed me a web link to the specs of their product.

 

As for drivers, I do not think it is a big concern, both are great companies and driver issues should be addressed in no time.

Please, anyone that can compare critically these two (Preamps an AD/DA), would be VERY nice...

 

Thanks, and sorry for the English!!!...

[polipolirecords]

I want to again say thank you to Craig and Mike. I am very pleased with the 24D. I ordered the digimax FS so that I can have the addition inputs when needed. I wish I could turn up the line inputs on 3+4 but this thing sounds so good, I'm over it.

 

I wanted to let other Logic users know that currently "AU version of Assimilator Konnekt are not yet Intel Mac compatible". I can't wait to try it out. I have been so blown away with the quality of this interface, I'm coming from a Tascam 122, motu 828 and Presonus Firepod background. I don't have great ears but I can totally hear the difference in quality.

 

Mike is there going to be a driver update for the intel Mac's or is 1.03 just for PC's. Tell the folks who built this WAY TO GO! I had everything up and running in Logic in minutes. The first tracks I recorded with the new Studio Projects C3 shocked me, I finally understand what everyone has meant by the term "transparent" WOW!

[Mike Martin]

Originally posted by Cmpsr Actually I'm not routing an instrument through the interface... if that's what you mean? I'm running in stand-alone "internal" mode until the new update is released. As my source, I'm using a sampled piano through a stand-alone version of Kontakt 2. Its output shows on both the "DAW Main" and "Main-Mix" faders and it sounds very good. However turning the "Fabrik R return level" knob all the way up or down doesn't bring up any reverb. Keep in mind, I'm assuming this is how it works?

 

Jon,

Based on what you're describing there is nothing defective with the unit itself. I'll try to put together a short tutorial on using the effects from a DAW. I think you're just missing a step.

[Cmpsr]

Well I hope you're right... looking forward to your tutorial.

 

Jon

[Mike Martin]

The Setup page of the Control Panel is where you can determine how the effects in Konnekt 24D can be used. Under “DSP Effects Settings” there are two routing choices; Internal Mode (for use while tracking) and Send/Return Mode (for use during Mixdown). These selections are also found on the Fabrik pages themselves on software version 1.02 and higher.

 

In other words if you want to add effects to a signal that is physically plugged into the Konnekt (a microphone or guitar), set the effects to Internal Mode. If you source is the computer, then you need to be in Send/Return Mode.

 

Jon, in your case the effects are coming from software. So the effects send and Fabrik R knobs shouldn't be used in this application. I'll have more on the subject in a little while...

[Mike Martin]

Craig has described this earlier, but here is a quick review.

 

While each piece of software is different the concept is the same on each one. One thing to keep in mind is that Konnekt effects live outside of your computer in the Konnekt interface itself. Signal must be sent from the DAW to the Konnekt interface and returned to another audio track. Audio sent to Konnekt outputs 5 and 6, will go to Fabrik C while outputs 7 and 8 will go to the Fabrik R reverb. Monitoring inputs 5-8 will allow you to hear the processed signal. It’s also possible to have multiple tracks each with different send levels sharing this same reverb effect.

 

Jon,

Your situation; wanting to use a softsynth outside a DAW lives a little outside the way Konnekt was designed to work. This is because most softsynths don't have a way to monitor incoming audio (the return of the effects). I suspect you're running your softsynth in stand alone mode because of the issue with Sonar. I believe this will be addressed in the 1.03 update.

 

If you want to use a synth in stand alone mode, outside a DAW, there is a solution for you that works. You just have to think "outside the box". Hang on for more info....

 

-Mike Martin

TC|US

[Really!]

Mike,

 

Do you know if TC is going to release a unit that will have more inputs with preamps (like 8 or 10)?

 

Thanks,

 

Really!

[Mike Martin]

So as I said my last post, the Fabrik effects are designed to work either on a physical input, or as a send/return from a DAW. True VST integration of these effects is something that is planned for the future (no, please don't ask, I don't know exactly when).

 

Jon raised the question on how to use the effects from a stand alone soft synth application.

 

- - - -

Breaking news - post edited here

- - - - -

 

I just had to make some major changes to this post. In 1.03 they added a SEND knob to the DAW MAIN. That means anything comine to the 1-2 outputs can go to the Fabrik R reverb. Perfect for stand alone synths!!

 

- - - - -

Jon, if you can't wait until tomorrow.... one way you could hear the Fabrik R effects from your stand alone synth is to physically take a cable and connect the S/PDIF digital out to the S/PDIF digital in. Set your soft synth to use the SPDIF outputs instead of the main outs. After setting the clock to external (SPDIF), you should be able to hear your softsynth. Then turn up the send knob on the S/PDIF channel to route that signal to the Fabrik R. None of this is neccessary in 1.03

 

 

 

 

Mike Martin

TC|US

[Mike Martin]

 

Originally posted by Really! Mike, Do you know if TC is going to release a unit that will have more inputs with preamps (like 8 or 10)? Thanks, Really!

 

 

Thats a great idea, but I couldn't comment on that right now. For now a Konnekt 24D and a product like a Digimax FS makes a great combination!

[al_dente_audio]

hello forum, and thanks to craig and mike for the work.

I am one of the mac book pro / konnekt 8 users that are affected by the firewire bus power issue.

Unfortunately it's not true that this only affects 17" mbps, that was the case with core duo models, but since apple introduced the core 2 duo mac book pros, the 15" models won't bus power the konnekts either.

Is there a solution on the way with the upcoming driver/firmware release?

Or will I have to get used to the power supply, that I didn't even plan to unpack when I received my konnekt.

 

thanks,

al

[Cmpsr]

Originally posted by Mike Martin I just had to make some major changes to this post. In 1.03 they added a SEND knob to the DAW MAIN. That means anything comine to the 1-2 outputs can go to the Fabrik R reverb. Perfect for stand alone synths!!

 

Nice! That's terrific Mike... looks like the company is really working to make this a great product. Thanks for your help. I'm glad my unit doesn't appear to be defective. Do you expect the 1.03 update sometime this week? I can wait!

 

Jon

[Anderton]

Mike was kind enough to shoot me the 1.03 beta, and I found out that it's actually the same as the version that will be available starting in the next day or two. So I eagerly installed it, and...and...

 

Sonar is now running at 128 samples -- reliably, with a fair amount of tracks and plug-ins. I haven't seen how hard I can push it (although I'm pushing it pretty hard) but the difference with the previous driver and v1.03 is night and day.

 

I've been able to get sorta reliable results with 64 samples and Sonar, too. It's not rock solid, but for projects with a lesser number of tracks, it's been working okay. Needless to say, it will run all day at 256 samples with just about anything you want to throw at it.

 

This is all ASIO, by the way. I haven't tried WDM, I was just so jazzed by the improvement I had to post something ASAP! I'll be giving the torture test over the next few days, but to say this is encouraging is an understatement.

[Anderton]

Okay, I figured I'd try WDM...

 

2.4 ms effective latency running at 64 samples! It still seems like 64 samples is running close to the edge, but it's performing better than most of my other interfaces at 64 samples.

 

This update is looking better all the time!!

[Anderton]

Hey Mike, hope it's okay if I post this...you didn't tell me not to

 

New stuff:

 

- Shortcut keys for TABS: Mixer = ‘M’ (or ‘1’), Setup = ‘S’ (or ‘2’), Fabrik C = C (or ‘3’), Fabrik R = R (or ‘4’), About = A (or ‘5’), System Settings = ctrl+’S’

- Tooltip texts now include shortcut keys

- Tooltips for device-tabs: '['ctrl-']' - [This device is Clock Master]

- Shortcut ctrl-M for monitor mix on/off

- Auto check for new firmware. Checks if a new version of the firmware is present but not uploaded to the device. If so, the user is directed to the about-page

- Tooltips for analog stereo link buttons on setup-page

- Dynamic tooltip on System Settings::Clock - it changes with sample rate

- Analog state for channel 1+2 in setup-page: phantom-power and warning (press inst-button).

- Stereo-link for channel 3+4

- Stereo-link for digital channels - including channel names and icons

- Send-knob on DAW channel

- Naming and icons for channel 3+4 in mixer

 

Other improvements:

 

- Digital lock status on DAW/Linked updated

- More reliable feedback on (no)lock, no-ref and slip on Setup page

- More reliable implementation of master/no-sync indication on tabs

- More reliable feedback on Sync and current sample rate on System Settings page

- NoDevice message similar on Mac and PC

- Sizing of window in AUTO SIZE mode, now also based on number of top level tabs as well as content components (needed when working with more devices)

- Editied colors of standard buttons (brighter background) and labels to match

- Edited texts for sync source, digital in, and shortcut tooltips

- Nicer text formatting in the ResetToDefault dialogue

- Digital Audio Workstation acronym spelled with capital letters DAW in source menus

- Better UI performance on plug-ins. Memory status updated

- Upload firmware progress bar widened and text changed: "Programming flash" -> "Do not turn off device!"

- To avoid version numbering confusion, the build number of package no longer sent to check-for-update server

- more improved tooltips on individual channel inputs, SETUP, digital inputs and System Settings Sync Source

- Massive optimization of the Fabrik-pages:

* Faster response of the header of the page

* A lot fewer page-updates => increased speed, and less flickering

* No disturbing quick reordering of Fabrik content => less flickering

- Firmware-upload made more stable, when device offers firmware-uploader version 1.01>

* Reporting of accepted size of binary

* Checksum correctly calculated on-the-fly, even if some packages fails, and thus must be sent again

* Exception handling based on the runtime errors regarding firmware-uploading. Exceptions are handled and communicated to user

- Minimizing AllwaysOnTop option enabled again

- Warning indicators on Master device tab and System Settings, when system has no lock

- CPL no longer switches to mixer page on preset-selection

- SampleSlipPoller completely reworked:

* Time based instead of thread

* SlipStatus communicated elegantly

* Implemented as pseudo-state, communicating changes directly to relevant channels

* Stopped and started according to need from ResetToDefault and FirmwareUpload

* Great performance increase!

 

Bug fixes:

- Graphical issues corrected

- Fabrik C reduction meter icon and Fabrik R icon in MIXER tab now work as expected

- Setup::Output UI no longer loops back and forth between formats

- Dashed line on channels between SEND and PAN/BALANCE are once again drawn

- MAC: AllwaysOnTop disabled due to disappearing Fabrik-windows

- Right-click+close in windows taskbar now closes CPL as expected

- Signal from linked device is no longer missing

- Fabriks set values in Konnekt, even when they are muted/bypassed

- Linked channels in mixer now shows the correct "mother-device" icons

- No monitoring on Konnekt8 ch1 and ch2, fixed

- Fabrik page no longer missing when switching Fabrik C channel

- Font for message "DirMon N/A in 192/176 kHz mode" edited to match small windows

[Anderton]

Okay, I just loaded a very stressful Sonar project. It's one I'm using to develop my next sample CD; this project is doing multiband distortion using three WAVES GTR stereo amps, three sets of WAVES stomp pedals, some reference drum tracks I'm playing against, several tracks of premixes, and a few more tracks doing AudioSnap tricks. This is pretty heavy, CPU-wise, and at 128 samples it's all working like a champ.

 

Nice! Thanks for sending me the software, Mike!! Now everyone with a Konnekt 24D can be jealous of me for a few hours :)

[Bob Walker]

Craig,

 

After spending many hours last weekend reading through both the Onyx 400f and Onyx Satellite threads , and now reading through this one, I want to first say a big thanks for your efforts. These Pro Reviews are simply awesome!

 

I'd also like to thank Mike Martin and the folks over at T.C. - I've always drooled over many of their products, but I'm even more convinced now that they are the kind of company I wish to purchase from.

 

So, far this Konnekt 24D looks to be exactly what I have been after.

 

I look forward to the final conclusions and baring any major issues, I'll be getting one in the coming weeks.

 

Again, thanks for all your efforts here on HC.

 

Regards.

[timbos]

Update:

 

 

Even after the 1.03 driver I still couldn't get Konnekt to operate flawlessly on my system so to my great sorrow I wound up returning it and purchased a Digidesign Mbox2 Pro Bundle.

I have it running on the same 10 track project with half a dozen plugins or so using Sonar like I did with the Konnekt and it performs perfect at only about 42% cpu usage and hardly any noticeable latency. Right now I'm learning Pro Tools LE so once my Sonar project is done I'll start using it as my sequencer software.

 

I sure won't bash the Konnekt 24D or their customer service because I think they did everything they could to help me. And in my opinion, the hardware and sound of the preamps are fantastic. I'm sad I couldn't get it to work for me.

 

This is a great forum and I just want to thank everyone that did what they could to help me out.

 

Tim

[Cmpsr]

 

Originally posted by timbos Even after the 1.03 driver I still couldn't get Konnekt to operate flawlessly on my system

 

 

Tim,

 

Can I ask what problems you ran into?

 

Thanks,

Jon

[Mike Martin]

Originally posted by Anderton Okay, I just loaded a very stressful Sonar project. It's one I'm using to develop my next sample CD; this project is doing multiband distortion using three WAVES GTR stereo amps, three sets of WAVES stomp pedals, some reference drum tracks I'm playing against, several tracks of premixes, and a few more tracks doing AudioSnap tricks. This is pretty heavy, CPU-wise, and at 128 samples it's all working like a champ. Nice! Thanks for sending me the software, Mike!! Now everyone with a Konnekt 24D can be jealous of me for a few hours :)

 

Craig,

Thats great news. 1.03 is posted on the website so everyone can download it now.

 

TC Near Driver Version 1.03

[Mike Martin]

 

Originally posted by timbos I sure won't bash the Konnekt 24D or their customer service because I think they did everything they could to help me. And in my opinion, the hardware and sound of the preamps are fantastic. I'm sad I couldn't get it to work for me.

 

 

Sorry that things didn't work out Tim. I was convinced (and still am) that we could get things working.

 

One word of advice for anyone experiencing problems. PLEASE, PLEASE go to the TC Electronic website and fill our a support claim. There are people with much more time than me (and more experience too) available to help. This also helps our staff create FAQ's and solve any outstanding issues.

 

Here is the link Contact TC Support

 

-Mike Martin

TC|US

[Mike Martin]

Originally posted by Anderton Okay, I figured I'd try WDM... 2.4 ms effective latency running at 64 samples! It still seems like 64 samples is running close to the edge, but it's performing better than most of my other interfaces at 64 samples. This update is looking better all the time!!

 

Fantastic. I honest didn't spend much time with WDM myself but thats great to hear! I assume your 2.4ms figure is "round trip"?

 

BTW: In future releases they will likely add more choices in the buffer size like 96 samples.

[timbos]

 

Originally posted by Cmpsr Tim, Can I ask what problems you ran into? Thanks, Jon

 

 

Well it was strange. Under 1.03, when selecting the WDM driver in Sonar 6 I would get great playback on my 10 track project. But then if I armed a track for recording, selected echo monitoring and spoke into the mic it was terribly distorted. Then I changed from the WDM driver to the ASIO driver in Sonar. I would then get stuttered playback, pops and clicks. But when I armed a track and selected echo monitoring and spoke into the mic the sound was pristine and no distortion.

 

Seems my system and Konnekt just didn't get along. But my system got along perfect with my Echo Audio Layla 24bit PCI card/breakout box unit that I used for years. And my system gets along fine with the new Mbox2 Pro even in Sonar 6 utilizing the ASIO drivers. I don't get it. But when your talking PC's, especially customs, it's really not fair to focus the blame totally on either.

 

I sure was heartbroken having to return the Konnekt. I really wanted to make it work. At least my experience with TC customer service was top notch. In my book, that means everything.